Two-thirds believe making streamer audiences pay the licence fee if they don’t watch BBC is ‘unfair’

Two-thirds of people believe requiring streamer-only audiences to pay the licence fee is “unfair” if they don’t watch BBC or live programming, according to a Yougov poll commissioned by COBA.

Of the 2,000+ UK-wide respondents, 69% said extending the scope of the licence fee in this way would be unfair, with half (52%) believing it would be very unfair. Only a quarter of respondents said such a move would be fair.

Currently, audiences are not required to pay the licence fee if they do not watch scheduled linear TV or any BBC or live content. However, the Government is looking at the scope of the licence fee as part of the BBC Charter review as part of possible changes to the BBC’s funding model.

COBA also commissioned a further Yougov poll asking respondents how they would react to being asked to pay a monthly or annual subscription fee for certain more commercial BBC shows, which would not be available to those who only paid the licence fee. This is another mooted change to the BBC in the Charter consultation.

Half of respondents replied that a partial subscription model would make them less favourable to the BBC, while 43% (the biggest single category of answer) said they would not pay the licence fee as a result. Only 25% said they would continue to pay the licence fee under this scenario. These answers came despite it being made clear in the questionnaire that the licence fee would most likely continue to be a legal requirement for watching other TV services.

It is also questionable how successful such a subscription service would be. When asked whether they would pay for the new subscription services, 86% of respondents said they would be unlikely to do so, with only 8% expressing willingness.

Adam Minns, COBA’s Executive Director, said: “In a world of increased choice, some people may not wish to watch the BBC or live content, making it at best debatable whether the scope of the licence fee should be extended to include them. That said, the BBC and the licence fee are vital to the success of the screen sector – and we support a sustainable licence fee that underpins a strong BBC. With this in mind, if the Government wishes to address the issue of people watching BBC content without paying the licence fee, it might explore technology such as pin codes, which could potentially address this in a fair and proportionate way.”

COBA is the Association for Commercial Broadcasters and On-Demand Services. It represents multichannel broadcasters and on-demand services.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The survey about an additional subscription service was undertaken between 4–5 March 2026 with a total sample size of 2,137 adults. The survey on extending the scope of the TV licence was undertaken between 9-10 March 2026 with a total sample size of 2,125 adults. The surveys were carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).